Jay Irwin

Basically, this was delightful, corny fun (yeah, I had to) from beginning to end and should not be missed. And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give Shucked a “so sad I missed this one on Broadway” YAY+. If you want a good time, just go before you miss out on this one. I’ll be sad for you if you let it pass you by. And I may mock you a little too with a hearty “I told you so.”

It’s from the glory that is Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman, the geniuses behind “Hairspray”, so you know it’s good. Plus, direction and choreography from the amazing Casey Nicholaw, so get ready for some wonderful dance numbers, including some good old fashioned tap numbers and a raucous, Scooby-Doo-esque chase scene on stage. This is a good old-fashioned musical that’s good new-fashioned fun and one of my favorite things to come out of Broadway in recent years. Which is why I was shocked it didn’t last longer there. No accounting for taste, I guess. But it's here now and you can revel in its glory.

Now, for a little backstory, I managed to see this at The Public Theatre in 2022 before it went on to Broadway and it’s Tony wins for best book and best score. And honestly, I didn’t care for it. I felt it didn’t flow well, and the songs didn’t move things along and were too repetitious. But I kept hearing how it had gotten so much better and now I’m forced to eat a little crow as the show has grown by leaps and bounds. I still feel there’s a bit too much repetition, but the rest of my qualms are completely gone. With a beautiful pacing and staging from director Leigh Silverman, Taub’s show doesn’t just tell the story, it makes you feel it and its importance. And the songs are lovely.

This was a show that snuck up on me when I saw it the first time. I found myself with a hole in a Broadway trip schedule and thought, 'this should be fun' and found one of my favorite shows I saw that trip. It’s rockin’, funny, and just plain wonderful. So, it’s no reason it’s STILL kicking ass on Broadway. And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give “& Juliet” at the Paramount, and really this show in general, a 'I could watch this show a hundred times and still be in love with it' WOW.

This is simply a super solid production of an underdone masterpiece, and you need to catch it. And so, with my three-letter rating system I give the North American Tour of “Parade” at the 5th Avenue Theatre a “let’s try and learn from the past” YAY. We still seemed to be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, but with theater and stories like this, hopefully we can learn to overcome even a little bit of our own prejudice and ignorance.

Now, here we are in 2025, and that same show is at the Paramount, and while I found it a tighter show and certainly adorable and charming, I still have issue with the lack of memorable songs and, honestly, its Tony win especially when stacked up against some other shows that season.

OK, so the music is a disaster and the effects, while flashy, didn’t always work. What of the performers? Brauch is fine. In fact, he’s better than fine with a great voice and moves and tons of stage presence. He commands the stage and leads the show well. But so many of the others, especially Stephenson and Swanson, are doing such campy, broad, overdone impressions of the characters in the movie, that the jokes were no longer funny, just embarrassing. And how much do we need to pander to the audience? Let’s make them cheer by having an opening projection showing the current date and the town we’re in (in case you forgot) or by having local references (Marty: “What are you looking at George?” George: “Hawks. See? Hawks.” Get it? Seahawks?). Again, super thirsty.

Shankman is incredible. A killer voice, able to belt up into the rafters, and an ability to make Fanny come alive, she totally nails the role. And her chemistry with Manchester and Harris are awesome. Manchester disappears into the role of Mrs. Brice. With a stellar career as a recording artist, we know she’s got the voice, but she shows her she’s got the acting and comedic chops too. And Harris is astounding especially during his tap number when he blew the audience away. And I must mention the insanely talented ensemble especially the dancers from “Cornet Man” and “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” who brought the house down.

It’s still the same show, but in attempting to stage it in present day, they only shine a spotlight on how dated the show really is. Which is only worsened by some very outdated attitudes on Bobbie’s supposed need to get married. Honestly by the end I wasn’t sure what she wanted or why, and for a show about a character growing, there wasn’t much growth.

This cast of crazies are all just plain fabulous. Each one of them taking those iconic roles and still finding moments to make them their own. I especially need to call out Egan, Glushak, and Shartzer for keeping me giggling all night long. Egan is just an incredible presence, and each little nuanced move was fantastic. Speaking of nuanced moments, keep your eyes on Glushak as she takes little moments for herself and her flask. And then there was Shartzer who apparently has no bones, just a body made of rubber. Seriously some of the best physical comedy I’ve seen. That chandelier moment is worth the price of admission.

As I said, it’s a bleak story, but definitely a slice of life of people in that era who were constantly backed into a corner with very little choices for their futures. And the book and direction from McPherson is so deliberate that you just need to hang on. The songs are stunning as many of Dylan’s songs are but are presented often times in a more concert/revival sort of way as the inner thoughts of these people suddenly burst forth, backed up by the rest of the town.

Dear Readers, warning, I’m about to be a bit of a snob here. I know, big surprise. But I’m not the biggest fan of the musical, “Beetlejuice”, currently playing at the Paramount Theatre. I wasn’t a fan when I first heard the cast recording and now having seen it, I can’t say my opinion has changed all that much. A bit, but not much.

The book by the incredible playwright Lynn Nottage is an embarrassment. With forced and heavy-handed dialog, most of the impetus for the story is from the faux questions from the reporter. At which we proceed to learn that Michael’s father Joseph (Devin Bowles) was a monster, physically and mentally abusing his kids and working them to the bone. And we learn this about him over and over and over again. All of this goes to paint MJ as a victim of his upbringing and attempts to justify any troublesome things he did himself, assuming we ever really talk about them at all. They portray him as a diva, perfectionist, child but when they try and talk about anything icky, they moonwalk past it as quickly as possible.